Austrian minister says Britain will remain an EU member

Austrian Finance Minister Hans Jörg Schelling told a German newspaper he expected Britain to remain a member of the European Union, despite the 23 June referendum in which British voters chose to quit the bloc.

Schelling also said the EU should respond to the referendum result by reforming itself, and by focusing on crucial issues such as the single market, climate change and security while leaving member states to deal with other topics.

“Britain will remain a member of the EU in the future,” he was quoted as saying in an English excerpt of an interview due to be published in Handelsblatt today (5 July).

“In five years, there will still be 28 member states,” he said, noting that the impact of the Brexit vote on companies and financial markets had shocked Britain.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday (28 June) that Britain’s vote to leave the European Union might never be implemented and that London is in no hurry to go.

Some banks and firms have signalled they may move operations to continental Europe to secure continued unhindered access to the EU’s single market, while the pound has been battered in currency markets amid fears of prolonged economic uncertainty.

“When you look at all of those (companies) who want to move to the EU, it’s a wake-up call for Britain not to leave in the end,” he said.

In the Handelsblatt interview, Schelling said another option was for Britain to remain in the EU and not apply to quit.

The longer the uncertainty over Britain’s future relations with the EU lasts, Schelling said, the more unnerved markets and people will become and therefore the more damaging it will be both for Europe and especially for Britain.

The contenders to replace outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron, including those who backed the Remain camp, have said they will honour the result of the vote and have ruled out holding a second referendum.

What a democratic guy, this is. Let’s ditch the referendum result, it was just 4 months of campaign and millions of pounds spent just for fun! The death of the poor girl was also a small incident without importance.